But Tuesday’s meeting rewarded (or would that be punished?) participants and viewers with both.

The fireworks began to ignite when Councilman Charlie Tygard, who may have been annoyed by the poor reception his pension funding legislation received, pulled three bills off the consent agenda for first-reading legislation. All three bills deal with building a new baseball stadium and associated developments north of downtown in a public-private partnership that would include $65 million in tax dollars for ballpark construction and land acquisition.

Bills on first reading are typically given a perfunctory approval without discussion and dispatched into the council’s committee system before the second and third votes.

But Tygard said the city’s multi-part plan to finance a new ballpark for the Nashville Sounds, which could be fully approved by Dec. 17, was too important to try to digest during the busy holiday season. He said a series of community meetings should be held in January.

“Why is there such a rush during this time?” he said. “Should not all the citizens of Nashville, including those most directly affected, be given an opportunity? … It’s just simply too tight a schedule at the wrong period of time.”

After Tygard moved for a two-meeting deferral, Councilman Jerry Maynard took offense. He argued that North Nashville, which is predominantly black, stands to gain from the ballpark’s construction and that it shouldn’t be singled out for a slower process.

“To pull this one, when we haven’t pulled anything else after all these years, I just think we need to move forward on this,” Maynard said.

Maynard’s statement – or perhaps its racial implications – set off Councilman Tony Tenpenny, who yelled from two rows back, “Come on!”

“You come on!” Maynard replied, turning to face Tenpenny.

“No, you come on!” said Tenpenny, on his feet by now, although he didn’t have the floor. “Where do you get off saying something like that?”

As Council President Pro Tem Chris Harmon, leading the meeting in Vice Mayor Diane Neighbors’ absence, tried to restore order, Maynard said, “Council member Tenpenny, I can say whatever I want to. If you’ve got a problem with it” – at that point, the small print press corps couldn’t help but lean forward in anticipation that a duel on the Public Square was forthcoming – “push the button.”

The fight quickly fizzled after that, and Tygard’s motion was history shortly thereafter. But don’t be surprised to see further efforts to slow down the approval process, further resistance by the stadium plan’s supporters or further talk about big-ticket debates that coincided with mistletoe and menorahs. Dean’s administration introduced the financing package for the $585 million Music City Center, for example, on Dec. 3, 2009, though the single vote on the matter – which was a resolution, not an ordinance – wasn’t held until Jan. 19, 2010.

You can watch the Maynard vs. Tenpenny fireworks below. Go to the 43:20 mark if you’re not up for watching the full meeting. (Come on!)